Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable song of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: HUNTR/X — “Golden”
One of the most popular and catchy songs in the world right now is the epic earworm “Golden” from the animated Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters.” The K-pop song has topped the charts in more than 30 countries, and it has powered the soundtrack to be certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum in 11 countries. The song itself has gone even further, reaching diamond status in France and platinum or multi-platinum status in eight more countries. The song has been nominated for four Grammy Awards in the United States, and it has already won awards in South Korea and France.
The epic earworm is a pivotal plot point in the Netflix urban fantasy musical, and it is performed in the movie by the protagonist’s demon-hunting band, Huntrix (stylized as HUNTR/X). The song is meant to create a mystical barrier, the Golden Honmoon, to banish the demons of the demon King Gwi-Ma back to the demon world forever. In reality, the song was recorded by Korean-American singers Ejae (often stylized in all caps), Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami.
A Supernatural Blessing
Ironically, Ejae, who helped write “Golden,” had a breakthrough on the melody and lyrics while driving in her car to the dentist to get a gold filling. After her dentist appointment, she met up with one of her co-writers, Mark Sonnenblick, and the lyrics he had been working on matched up perfectly to create the song’s chorus. The two knew that they had something special.
Later on in the process, though, was when the fate of “Golden” would be sealed. Ejae was in the studio recording her vocals when a volume knob stopped working. She called in an assistant engineer to fix it. As she sat waiting, she heard the door open and footsteps, and everything started working again. However, when she turned to thank the tech, no one was in the room with her. The singer swears, for a split second, she saw a tall, ghostly figure in jeans and flannel.
When Ejae told people in the studio what had happened the next day, they told her that there was a male ghost on the third floor and a female ghost on the fourth floor. She later told her mother the story, and her mother told her that there is a myth that anytime someone encounters paranormal activity while recording in the studios, that song will be a hit.
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